What I'm Lovin' Wednesday: A Peach Summer

One of my favorite fruits in the summer is the peach. 

It’s so sweet and delicious.  As a mater of fact, I’m drinking a mug of warm ginger peach tea & have a peach candle burning right now as I write this post for you :-)

Of course the peach is delicious on it’s own, but there are a bazillion other ways you can enjoy them.  In honor of the peach I’ve collected a few recipes for you. 

Here are some ideas for how to start your day with peaches:

1.Peach Streusel Muffins, 2. Peaches & Cream Muffins, 3. Peach French Toast, 4. Peach-Pecan Muffins

You can also include peaches in your lunch:

5. Peach, Mozzarella, and Basil Salad, 6. Fresh Peach Gelées, 7. Country Ham-and-Peach Panini, 8. Easy Peach Cobbler

In the middle of the summer, with the humidity & heat choking you, cool off with a delicious peach beverage!

9. White Peach Sangria, 10. Governor's Mansion Summer Peach Tea Punch, 11. Carolina Peach Sangria, 12. Peach Flip

Just because it’s dinner time, does not mean peaches are off the table (pun intended hehe).  You can certainly bring them to dinner for a fresh new flavor!

13. Crab Salad with Peaches and Avocados, 14. Peach Stuffed Pork, 15. Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Peach Barbecue Sauce, 16. Grilled Tomato-Peach Pizza

I think we all think of peaches at dessert time.  I’m a sweet tooth myself, so I’m not gunna stop you! Go for it!

17. Pecan-Peach Cobbler, 18. Peach Upside-Down Cake, 19. Cocoa Bread With Stewed Yard Peaches, 20. Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Peach Pie

Here are some other ways you can include peaches during your summer festivities!

21. Fresh Peach Salsa, 22. Peach Ice Cubes, 23. Tomato-Peach Preserves, 24. Peach Butter

So since they’re in season we’ve got to find a bazillion ways to incorporate peaches into our lives, right? Do you have a favorite way to prepare peaches in the summer?  Please share your favorite peach recipes with me!!

All of the recipes listed can be found here.

Calling the Called

Happy Tuesday!  Yesterday I was pretty wordy about a struggle Phil and I have been going through for the past few years; thank you so much for the feedback and encouragment (click here if you missed it).  Today I wanted to share with you about my career calling.  Last week I was a guest poster at Enamored & Elegant and I share this post.  So in case you missed it, here are the details of how I was called into my career.

I firmly believe that my life is a gift from God, & I want to use what I’ve been given to honor Him.  I am not perfect at this & I have made some HUGE (not to mention, embarrassing) mistakes, but I can’t change the past.  I can only move forward, learning from my mistakes.  So how did I decide what I was going to be when I “grew up”? 

All of my decisions, are based on prayer.  The more I come to God in conversation, the more I am in tune with what He wants for me to hear.  I am in prayer constantly about the little things & the big things in life.  When I was applying to undergraduate school I prayed about which school & major was best for me.  I ended up attending RMC with a major in Religious Studies & a minor in Education.  God placed people in my path while I was at RMC & I ended up switching & graduating with a major in Biopsychology.  That is a HUGE switch LOL!  I continued on that path throughout grad school, receiving my Masters and Doctorate in Behavioral Neuroscience.  Through all of these chapters in my life prayer has been the common denominator; I must keep the conversation between me and God going so that I know what the next step is that He wants me to take.
Each next step has not always been easy or even something that I completely understood.  For example: Why would God want me to switch my major from Religious Studies?! Why would God want me to enroll in such a competitive graduate program when He knows I’m an anxious person?! Why would God want me to go through such a challenging graduate experience half-way across the country without my family for support?!  This is where patience and trust comes into play.  I had to choose faith in Him for what was to happen next.  So even though I might not have understood it at the time, I knew that one day I would be able to look back & see why His way was better than anything I could have ever planned for myself.
What I wanted at the end of high school was different in college, & completely opposite in graduate school.  But now that I am getting ready to start my new faculty position in the fall, it all makes perfect sense.  I will be the newest faculty member at a Christian university starting in the fall.  This position is a combination of everything I have been studying for the past 10 years; it’s perfect for me because I still get religion, education, & neuroscience.  Do you know how challenging it is to find a scientist with faith?!?!  Almost impossible!  Most scientist are atheists, so to fill a science position at a Christian university presents multiple challenges, but not for me.  Because I have faith I see God’s glory in science, & God has been training me for this position for decades.  I could have never seen the availability of this opportunity 10 years ago, but now looking back, I can see that my life was a puzzle waiting for each piece to click into place.  I admit though, this process did take some time, so through prayer I asked begged for patience, and I trusted His will.
Something I had to continually repeat to myself, was that God does not make accidents, and there is no such thing as serendipity or coincidence.  NO SUCH THING!  God has a plan for my life and it is GOOD!  I had to relinquish what control I thought I had on my life, & give all of my concerns to him.  This is very frustrating if you’re a control freak like me, but also very liberating.  Through letting go & letting God work, I found my calling.  My calling is way better than anything I could have ever planned.  Praise the Lord!  I not only found my perfect career, but I also found my husband.
My best advice for someone looking for their calling is to pray & have patience, trusting in the Father’s will for your life.  It is so GOOD, so no need to worry!  He has everything under control, so continue to work hard & value each day & relationship as a gift!

How did you choose your career path?  What is your calling in life? How do you exercise that calling?

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It's Time to Share: A Struggle & A Praise

If you haven't noticed, I don't talk a lot about my personal life around here.  I tend to stay on the surface and talk about light-hearted things (e.g. what we've been doing, what we're eating, etc.).  I love to blog and it's therapeutic in a way for me, so it’s my desire to keep LWTH a positive and encouraging place.  I want you to enjoy coming around here, knowing that you can find a happy place filled with smiles.  This however, does not mean that my life is a walk in the park.  Don't get me wrong, I acknowledge that I am VERY blessed and I love the journey that I'm on, but I face struggles just as much as the next person.  Since I'm generally happy, I don't want you to think that I'm not genuine.  I am a very authentic person, but I tend to focus LWTH on the positive side.  However, today I'm going to share with you some of the issues we've been juggling for the past year.  So if you're not into a wordy posts or getting deep into my struggles, this is not the visit for you. Go ahead and 'X' off  this window; we hope to see you back tomorrow!  On the other hand, if you want/need to be encouraged through our storms, then today is YOUR day :-)  Despite blogging for three years, this going deep thing is new to me via LWTH; please be patient with me as I get my balance.

A lot of you have asked me what I am doing now that I have finally finished my doctorate.  This was actually the most asked question when I asked you want LWTH readers wanted to know a couple of months ago for a vlog.  Well I have known for a long time actually, but I have not been able to say for a variety of reasons.  All of the stars have aligned and it's time for me to share with you :-)
 
I guess you could say this journey really started 10 years ago.  I was enrolled as an undergraduate at RMC with a major in Religious Studies and a minor in Education.  Within my first semester there (and first 75 page paper), I discovered my passion for neuroscience.  I am so enthusiastic about the mind-brain dichotomy; I love learning and teaching about functional neuroanatomy.  During my undergraduate years I quickly changed my major to Biopsychology, and upon completion I started graduate school in Neuroscience at UofH.  I finished my Masters in Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience in 2009, and knew that I only had a few years left of school.  I got busy with publications, job searching and other preparations.

This time last year, I began the long haul.  I had no idea how in the world I was going to accomplish everything.  I prayed deeply about it, and ask God for divine strength, patience, and the ability to work well under extreme exhaustion (not to mention to still provide a warm and loving home for our family).  So what did I do last year?  Well I conducted an entire study (which in my field generally takes 3 years), published a manuscript, wrote 2 courses and taught them both (twice), conducted a study on pediatric brain cancer rehabilitation, wrote a dissertation, defended my dissertation, and went on various job interviews (national and international).  I truly beat the odds and completed everything in 9 months.  No one thought I could tackle this year successfully, but I did….He did it!  God is SOOO good!  Now all of that seems pretty good right?! I mean I set out to conquer just a dissertation in a year, and ended up doing way more in less time.  What is the "struggle" in that?!
 
Well you see friends, my struggle was with the next chapter.  While I was going through this past hectic year, I had to make some serious decisions (with Phil's input and guidance of course) about where our family would go next.  There were only 18 positions available (in the USA) that I fit the bill for.  These were the only positions available for everyone graduating this year (and I promise you there were more than 18 doctoral graduates in the USA this year).  How in the world would I get one of those dream positions?!  Most likely we will have to move IF I get one of those positions, so where will we live? Where will Phil work? Will he still be able to take classes? Do we really have to leave Houston, because I'm finally (after 5 years) starting to like it? If we have to move across the country again, how will we be able to afford it?! What if I don't get a job, what will I do instead? Will this time, money, and effort have all been for nothing!? So you can easily see how these worries consumed my thoughts.  With everything I was trying to do with work and school, plus these added anxieties were truly taking a toll on me. With all of the craziness, going on, I fixated on something small that was bothering me, because it was all I thought I could handle at the time. I was focused on my hair falling out.  I know that’s weird and gross (sorry about that but I’m just being honest), but folks, it was bad. Clumps of hair would just fall out.  My research emphasis is in stress and the toxic effects it has on both the brain and body, so I knew where the source of the hair loss was coming from, but that still didn't change it.  I mean this was just what years of only 3-4 hours of sleep a night and lots of worry will do to one's health.  This was normal for my job.  Isn’t that sad?! 

So last November arrived and I had my first international interview, for the sake of anonymity will call this Job A.  The interview wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.  I just knew that it wasn't a good fit.  Then in December I was interviewed and offered a faculty position (Job B) that I thought would be perfect, but they wanted me to start in January.  I knew that I could not start at Job B on top of everything else I was juggling.  If they really wanted me then they would wait for me to finish my degree.  So I declined (though I was kicking myself the entire time).  Then in January I had a phone interview with a school out of state (Job C).  It went VERY well, and I immediately fell in love with the school. After that, things started to move very quickly.  I had a second phone interview and then was brought to their campus in March for a week of intense interviews (a WEEK of interviews people!).  There I met with so many wonderful people, gave a job talk, and truly learned the school and town.  I even met with an architect to start designing my laboratory.  I was convinced Job C was where God wanted us to move.  Yes there would be plenty of trials in this new town (that was composed mostly of cornfields), but we could make it work.  It seemed like the dream job I had always thought awaited me.  I was offered one of the 18 jobs!!!  I could not believe it!  Negotiations commenced and the day the contract arrived for Job C, we signed it.  A couple hours later I got a call from the Job B (the one from back in December) that they would like to interview me again. I immediately thought "Ok what are you doing God? I just put the contract for Job C in the mailbox and now you're pulling me back? What's going on?! What do I do?!".  So now picture me digging through the mail slot with a stick, trying to get my signed contract for Job C out of the mail slot. This actually happened!


Now what do I do?!  Job C thinks I'm moving to their school, but Job B was the original one that I wanted. So now I have to stall on Job C, while I go through the lengthy interview process at Job B.  (Are you confused yet?) I didn't know if it was possible that I could get offered 2 faculty positions, considering how many people were looking for jobs.  So while Job C was moving forward (I was still working on lab renovations, writing a new curriculum, and starting with plans to move our family across the country again), I was also interviewing at Job B again.  The guilt I felt towards Job C was unbearable, but I had to keep going.  Phil reminded me, that ultimately I was blessed to have choices and that we have to be content with our decisions.  He was right .  The idea of going through with Job C made us nauseous; deep down we knew moving to the Midwest was not the best option for our family, but we had to keep waiting.  We had to wait on the Lord’s perfect timing.  Through prayer, and lots of discussions about careers, leadership, trust, and sacrifice, we had made a decision for which position we wanted.  In May I finally finished all of my interviews & negotiating at Job B and had an official offer!  I received offers from 2 of 18 possible positions in the US!  What an honor! Now came the uncomfortable call to be released from an offer I had already accepted from Job C.  This is not something I wish on anyone; it was so awkward and I felt sooooo bad but I had to be honest and true to my family.  Job C was shocked but was also very understanding of my position.  I know this may same petty, but this entire experience was a HUGE deal for us.  From November to May we were forced to keep a lot of the details quiet and that’s really hard to do if you’re making a big decision.   Since we couldn’t talk about it, we simply asked for others to pray for us, that our decisions would be easy.

Ok so with all that being said, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE HAWLEYS?!  I have accepted the position in Houston (Job B).  This was the position I was originally offered in December and was kicking myself about for initially turning down.  I am a new faculty member in behavioral sciences department at a university in Houston (not the school I graduated from though).  When Phil and I moved to Houston 5 years ago, we always had the idea that we would be moving back home as soon as I was done with school.  The thought of us staying in Houston NEVER crossed our minds.  I never felt like Houston was home, but now that I have shifted my thinking with this new position, it is finally starting to feel like home.  Is that weird?  I do not officially start my new position until August 14th, but unofficially I have started already.  Friends let me tell you, I am loving my new position.  Grad school truly slaughtered all passions that I had for science, and for the first time in a long time I glow when I think about work.  I wake up early in the morning because I am just so excited.  The new work environment is nothing like I have ever experienced in the science field; it’s so encouraging and welcoming.  I love it!

So were the struggles of the past 5 years worth it?! YES!  Everything has come full circle!  With all of the frustrating back and forth, God wanted me to trust in Him and let Him have control.  God had a better plan for our lives than what I could have ever planned despite being a control freak.  I have been amazed how God’s plan for our lives has been constant from Him, but evolving from our perspective.  I am so blessed to have had Phil walk through this chapter with me, as we prayed for God to slam shut doors to make our decision obvious.  God’s faithfulness has been so great and we expected great things from Him; He didn’t disappoint.  If you are going through a chapter in your life where you have a lot of waiting on the next step, keep pressing into God for the answers.  He does hear your prayers and He does answer.  It took the Mr and I 5 years to learn about our new calling, but His timing was beyond perfect!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

The Mr. and I are truly praising the Lord for this new phase right now and looking forward to the future chapters in our lives.  Tomorrow I am going to share a little bit more about my personal career path, but as for now we are staying in Houston and praising the Lord for the struggles he has brought us through the past few years.  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!

If you stayed around for the end of this post, I’m very impressed and I hope you find encouragement from our story!  Tomorrow I will share more about my career path so be sure to come back and hear the rest (I promise it will be shorter than today LOL) 

Does this story sound similar to something that you have experienced?  What have you learned about prayer and waiting on the Lord?

Happy Monday!

Sugarbaby’s

Last Sunday I had the privilege and delight of meeting up with some of my favorite bloggers! I always have a blast when I get together with these ladies, and on this particular Sunday we went to Sugarbaby’s Cupcake Boutique!  Good friends and cupcakes?! What could be better? Absolutely nothing! LOL  Check out this gorgeous cupcake boutique:

We each had 3 cupcakes (chocolate, red velvet, and vanilla).  Don’t worry, there were no diabetic comas!  Each cupcake was mini and bite size!

Of course there was no way I was leaving Sugarbaby’s without some Sugarbaby’s for my hubby!  (Oh who am I kidding, I was hoping he wouldn’t want them so I could gorge on all of them myself LOL)

I got a vanilla with vanilla frosting, vanilla with chocolate frosting, chocolate almond joy, and Dippity Doo-dah.  I liked the Dippity Doo-Dah the best; it was very similar to a dunked Diary Queen cone.  Check out all of their other cupcakes here.

Also I’ve got to tell you about Lori, my sweet new blogging buddy.  She made these fabulous bookmarks for everyone at the meet-up!  Isn’t that sweet!?  I put mine to use as soon as I got home.  Lori is very talented and makes a lot of awesome things.  In fact Lori is having a giveaway on her blog for one of these bookmarks.  The giveaway ends TODAY, so make sure you hop over there right now for your chance to win one!  Make sure you check out her Etsy shop too!

Seriously the cupcakes were delicious and the boutique is fabulous! Promise me fellow Houstonians that you will go check out Sugarbaby’s Cupcake Boutique ASAP!!

Have a great weekend friends!

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Porching

Have you ever heard of porching?  If you’re from the North, this may sound foreign to you, but if you’re from the South this is a completely normal activity. Porching, by southern tradition, is relaxing on the porch with nothing to do other than wave to the neighbors.

  In the south, a porch without a swing is like tea without sugar!

If you’ve never taken a moment to just be present and rest on the porch, I insist that you take a moment; you wont regret it.  So many of us are blessed and have lavish porches but we never use them.  Pleeeeeaaaasse go outside, sit, rest, and wave to your neighbors!

Don’t have a porch ready for porching?  That’s okay.  Here are a few things you can add to your porch for superb porching:

You’ve got to have a swing!  If you’re in Texas, a fan wont hurt you either!

Next, you’re gunna need a side table.  This doesn’t need to be anything elaborate; just strong enough to hold your lemonade ;-)

Speaking of table, you need your lemonade or sweet tea; it’s just too hot not to stay hydrated. I just did a post a few weeks ago about some of my favorite pitchers.  Here is a sample, but the rest can be found here.  Feel free to sip your drink from a mason jar ;-)

And lastly, if it’s hard to work yourself into a time of rest, start with reading a book.  It will be nice to just read a good book and retire from the normal rushing aroud.  Here are a few of the books I’ve read this summer to get your started (Part 1 and Part 2).

So what do you think about porching?  Is this something you’re familiar with and practice often? Or, is this something that you want to start incorporating into your life? What other tips do you have for me to improve my own porching experience?

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Jewel Addict

Yep!  That’s me!!!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, I’m sure that you have already noticed this about me.  Allow me to demonstrate with the new jewels I’ve gotten in the past month:

I am loving gold with mint and corals and anything nautical!  (Does this sound familiar?)

Clearly I am in love with this chevron shirt! Same shirt, but different necklace LOL
On the left panel is a pile of necklaces and bracelets that I ordered, with lots of pearls and shinnies :-) See that last coral necklace on the right?! Well let me tell you about that sweet baby!

A couple weeks ago I came across Shanna’s blog and her Bauble Swap; let me tell ya: I was hooked!

My beautiful partner was Ashlyn from let it be beautiful.  I loved that we were matched up together.  She is also from VA; just like me! She sent me a gorgeous coral and gold necklace that I’ve already worn twice.  Ashlyn also sent me some gorgeous pearl earrings (this girl figured me out quick!) Thank you SO much Ashlyn; I love them both!!!

Would you like to see what I sent to Ashlyn?!  You've got to click over to her blog and see :-)
Thank you Ashlyn and Shanna for the awesome swap!  Ok LWTH friends, get over there and meet these awesome women!

Dinner on a Stick

Something I love about the summer is grilling out.  I love to heat up something easy and fast that is delicious and fun!  Grilling out by the pool with friends is my idea of a great summer afternoon :-) Doesn’t that sound simply wonderful?! I shared my latest kabob recipe with you a few weeks ago (click here), but I wanted to share some other skewer recipes with you for this summer.

Before you get started with your grilling, I want to remind you of my favorite kabob cooking tip: make sure to soak your skewers in water for at least 15 minutes before sliding on your dinner to cook.  Of course, this is only needed for wooden kabobs & prevents them from burning.

Grilled Shrimp & Smokey Grilled Corn Grits /Peach & Pork Kabobs

Honey-Lime Chicken Skewers / Sweet & Sour Shrimp Kebabs / Pork Kebabs With Romesco Sauce / Buffalo Chicken Skewers

Beef and Veggie Kabobs / Grilled Scallop Kabobs

And of course, we can’t forget fun dessert skewers!

If you have not discovered the wonderful world of Pinterest, please do yourself a favor and get over there quick!!!  These recipes and others can be found here!

Have a great week friends!

It's a Birthday Par-tay!

With so much going on around here I completely forgot about the birthday celebration of this here bloggity-blog! How rude of me!  Monday was the third birthday for LWTH! I cannot believe how much fun I have had here, how many wonderful people I have met, and how many fabulous friends I have made. Thank you friends for everything! YOU are what make this blog; you’re awesome and cherished!

Wanna see my first post? Click here to see how far we’ve come (and how much weight we’ve gained lol) Have a great weekend friends! 

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Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

Friends, we wish you all a day filled with love, fun, BBQ, pool time, and fireworks!!!

During the day, please take a quiet minute to be mindful of those who have given their lives for our country!

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Summer Centerpiece (Take 2)

In case you’re new around here, this is a centerpiece I shared with y’all last summer.   It’s easy, and you’re not going to believe how affordable and fun it is!

Check out the tutorial here!

My {Summer} Style Monday

I occasionally like to share a few sTyLiSh items that I've pinned lately.  It's been a while since I have shared with you (take one & take two), so it's time we chit chat about summer style!
Right now I am loving the mints and corals, monogram- per the usual ;-), and chevron patterns.  I've also been drawn to pretty much anything nautical. 

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Ahhhh don't you just love summer fashion?!?!?!  Pinterest sure does make my shopping easier :-)

Check out all of these and more here.

What summer styles have you been pinning this summer?